Between Time
by hollywooddove
Summary: Doc Brown has a lot to do between the time Marty leaves 1955 and the initial time travel in 1985. What he doesn't count on is that he will be traveling in time to save the world from a massive time skew which could be set in motion with the best of intentions. Along with his genius cousin, Elliot Brown, the Doc has to race against the clock, and reset it.
1. Chapter 1

Einstein claimed that energy equals the mass times the speed of light of squared. Through his theory of relativity, he also claimed time travel was possible… if we could ever exceed the speed of light, which physicist have noted is very difficult to do indeed, because energy equals the mass times the speed of light. It seems nature had, if time travel were a possibility, locked it down and denied us passage. Perhaps within the scheme of things, the universe contains some sort of knowledge, and made an attempt to fence time in, keep it moving forward at a relative pace, and prevent paradoxes by establishing a set of laws very, very hard to break. But then came Doctor Emmett Brown, who by almost fracturing his skull due to the law of gravity, was given the epiphany of the Flux Capacitor. It was a vision definitely beyond the confines of nature, true thinking outside of the box. Brown had found a way to traverse around Einstein's rules with only eighty eight miles per hour, one point twenty one gigawatts of electricity, and of course, the mysteries within the Flux Capacitor.

Otis Peabody jumped up from his recliner at the sound of a thunderous crash outside their home. His son Sherman, who was reading a science fiction magazine, was the first to the door as Otis grabbed his shot gun and the family ran out into the yard. Sherman was sure, due to the magazine in his hand, that they had just seen an alien mutating into human form inside their barn. Being an avid reader of all things futuristic, and also being the only member in the house hold who could fluently read, Sherman's words were taken to heart and Otis opened fire on the Delorean which was speeding away.

The Peabodys stood with blank and confused gazes while the Delorean disappeared into the night, each slack jawed. Sherman said, "Did you see that pa? Did you see that? It looked like some kind of space car."

Otis scratched his head, "Yeah. Some kind of space car. I bet that alien is a commie from a commie planet, come to take over."

Sherman scratched his own head, "Why would an alien need a car if it has a space ship?" Then Sherman's eyes grew bright, and he dashed into the farm house. He raced to his bedroom and began to toss around a litter of magazines. There were publications of all sorts, and he knew which one he was looking for. Not the 'Science Daily,' nor the 'Popular Mechanics.' He was looking for something more general.

He had found it, and jumped on to his bed beneath a poster of some alien creature tramping beyond an atomic explosion in the back ground. There was a skimpily clad, voluptuous female in the alien's arms. She favored the females on the calendars his dad had hung in the barn, but Sherman barely noticed her. He had not entered the age where aliens would lose ranking to humans of the blond, brunette, and red headed species.

He held the magazine close to his face beneath the pale light of his bedside lamp. It was a magazine called 'Car Lovers,' and Sherman had flipped open to the only place in the only car magazine he owned which he enjoyed. The title of the article read, 'A View Of The Future.' Images of odd shaped automobiles were stacked below the title, and then Sherman saw the image which had been filed away in his young mind. It was a silver car, slightly more rounded than the Delorean, but close enough to trigger a resemblance.

Sherman's jaw dropped open once again, not with confusion in his eyes as out in the yard, but with revelation and enlightenment. "It's not a space ship. It's a car from the future. A time traveler."

Otis Peabody rubbed his eyes the next morning after being awoken by the yard Rooster, Henry. Henry could be a quite confrontational bird when he chose to be, yet he always crowed on time. Sherman jumped out of bed early that morning and went about his normal routine, plus a couple of extras. He had barely slept any the night before, and one would think he would have been tired. Pure adrenaline was driving him now.

Sherman crept into his mother's room and behind an umbrella, hanging on a hook fastened to the wall, was a camera. For some time in his life, he had thought it read Kodiak on the face of the camera, and had wondered why it was named for a bear, but as his reading improved he discovered it actually read Kodak. Looking both ways up the hall, he tucked the camera by his side and tip toed back to his bedroom.

Once inside, he unplugged the belly of his piggy bank and shook the contents on to his dresser. He raked the money quickly into his hands and crammed his pockets full. He froze in fright while placing the camera in his book back when he heard his mother's voice calling, "Sherman?"

He braced himself for a question like, "What are you are placing in your book bag?" or "What do you have there?" or "Have you seen my camera?" Instead she called again, "Sherman?"

"Yes ma'am?" Sherman winced; he never called his mother ma'am. He usually said mama or ma'.

"Ma'am?" she said from somewhere beyond the hall. "How polite. Have you had breakfast, Sherman?"

"No ma'am," he said, using the polite word, why break the rhythm when things seem to be working. "I don't want any this morning. Not hungry… ma'am."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure… ma'am."

"Alright. I will pack an extra sandwich in your lunch bag in case you get hungry."

Sherman hastily shoved the camera into his book bag and tossed it around his back, "Okay, thanks."

Sherman always rode his bike to school; it was only three miles up the road. He straddled his bike and looked behind carefully. Looking down in the dirt he saw the strange tire marks left by the car from the future. He peddled on, following the tracks. Soon he was upon the new construction site for Lyon Estates. Sherman noticed the tracks left the road and trailed behind the huge ad sign.

After tossing his bike in the grass, Sherman pulled the camera from the bag and ditched the bag. He ran behind the ad sign and saw the car buried in lumps of limbs and shrubbery. He removed enough to get a good view of the car from the future and took two shots of the automobile, just to be sure. He scattered the limbs and shrubs back over the car and scooped his book bag, looking around, wondering if he was being spied on by the man from the future. Seeing no one, he got back on his bike with the camera in bag and carried on in to town.

Sherman's first stop in town was to the drug store, where he handed over the camera to the man behind the soda counter. Sherman said, "I will be back after school to get the pictures."

The man said, "Whoa, whoa. It will be at least two days."

"Two days?" whined Sherman. "How come so long?"

The man smiled, "Well, we don't live in a world where we can just take a photo and instantly share it with the world, do we?"

"I guess not. How about tomorrow afternoon?"

The man thought, "Sherman, I have a lot of photos to do in front of these."

Sherman said, "Yeah, but these photos are important. A matter of life and death."

"Life and death, huh? Don't you think that's a matter for the police?"

Sherman said, "Yeah. As a matter of fact, I am going to see Sherriff Mike when I leave here."

"Oh yeah?" asked the amused soda fountain man. "Won't the Sheriff wonder why you aren't in school?"

"I'm on my way," said Sherman. "But this is more important. I took some pictures of a car from the future."

"Fancy cars? That's what all this hub bub is about?"

"No, not a fancy car. A car from the future, traveling to the past, to now, to here."

The soda man raised an eye brow, remembering that Sherman was the most avid reader of comics from the drug store, and said, "Uh huh."

"So, can I get the pictures tomorrow?"

The soda man smiled and leaned over the counter, "Sherman, it is going to be two days…"

Sherman dug into both pockets; yanking out all of his money and smacking it all down on the counter. "I will give you all I have, please?"

The soda man paused and scratched the back of his neck, squinting slightly. He pointed at the money, "It's okay, Sherman. Put your money back in your pockets. You don't pay me until the photos are developed."

Sherman held his head low, "Okay."

"When I have them developed tomorrow, since it's such an emergency."

Sherman was astonished and a great, wide grin was from one ear to the next, "Really?"

"Yes, really. I wouldn't want my favorite comic customer to spend all of his money at once and miss buying all the fine comics I get in."

Sherman shook the fountain man's hand, stuffed money in his pockets, shook again while gleefully thanking, and stuffed more money in his pockets. Like a rocket, he was on his bike and down the street to the Sheriff's office.

Sheriff Mike was on the phone in his office, "Yes Miss Blare, I know you are concerned, but there is no law against Elvira's daughter wearing a poodle skirt – yes Miss Blare – yes, back in your day I know such things weren't tolerated, but that doesn't change the fact that it isn't against the law, and I can't do much – yes Miss Blare – yes – yes – well I will keep my eye out and make sure no one is abusing the any skirt ordinances. Okay Miss Blare – thank you."

Sheriff Mike hung the phone up with, "Phew," and dropped his forehead into his palm over his desk.

The deputy asked, "Miss Blare?"

Mike said, "Yes."

"Sorry about that. I was just wondering, while you are in a good mood, you know the high school is having that dance this week…"

The Sheriff groaned, "Yeah."

"And you know every year some wild bunch of boys will show up in town, burning tires, yelling, or something…"

The Sheriff groaned again, "Yeah."

"So, I was just wondering, this year, if one of us was going to patrol the town during the dance, and a little while after." The deputy waited but got no answer, "Just so we don't have Miss Blare call and give us all the news from anything."

The Sheriff raised his head, just in time to see Sherman bursting into his office as he answered, "Yeah, sounds like a good idea. I will take it."

"Sure you don't want me take it?" asked the deputy.

Sherman had begun to butt in, "Sheriff, sheriff."

The Sheriff answered the deputy, "I'm sure, I will patrol that night." He then turned his attention to the bouncing boy in his office, "Sherman Peabody. Shouldn't you be in school?"

Sherman said, "I'm on my way, late. Sheriff, I gotta tell you something awful important."

Sheriff Mike said, "Okay, Sherman. Calm down first."

Sherman caught his breath and said as calmly as he could, "I took a picture of a time traveler's car, from the future, it's out hiding behind the big sign where they are building Lyon Estates."

The Sheriff gave a bemused smirk to the deputy, who grinned back. Sheriff Mike said, "Is that so? Saw a fancy car did you?"

"Not fancy," said Sherman urgently. "It's from the future. I took a photo of it. Aren't you going to drive out there and check it out?"

"Well show me the picture," said Sheriff Mike.

"I can't. Hasn't been developed yet."

"Okay then," said Sheriff Mike. "You bring me the picture, and if I think it needs looking in to, I will drive out there and check it out."

"Okay," Sherman's voice plainly was disappointed.

"Now, you run along to school before I have to call your pappy."

Sherman turned and slumped out of the office. The deputy asked, "What do you think that was all about?"

Sheriff Mike shrugged, "I don't know. I guess he saw one of those rich executive's cars. Probably never seen anything like it before."

The deputy laughed, "Yeah, that's probably it."

The phone instantly rang, and the Sheriff looked over at the deputy with dread, "It can't be."

He answered, "Sheriff's office. Hello Miss Blare. What's that Miss Blare? A strange young man in town – you say he has long bangs and is dressed strangely. Yes Miss Blare. I will keep an eye out, Miss Blare – yes Miss Blare – me either Miss Blare, no – no I don't want vagrants in this town either."

The Sheriff hung the phone up again and asked the deputy, "Is it quitting time yet?"

The next afternoon the drug store was busy, and Sherman came bursting in on his way home. He dashed up to the busy soda fountain and buzzed around in front of the soda fountain man until he received the attention he wanted. The man said, "Hello Sherman. I have something for you."

Sherman lit with joy. The soda fountain man reached down behind the counter and pulled up a thick white envelope. He raised a finger, "I developed these myself just for you."

Sherman eagerly held his hands out, "Did you see it?"

The soda fountain man nodded, "I saw something… unique there."

"I told you. It's a car from the future."

The fountain man handed the envelope to Sherman and said, "That will be a buck twenty five."

Sherman reached in his pocket and pulled the money out. He was waving the envelope in his hand and heading out the door when he yelled, "Thank you."

The fountain man smiled and waved, and then returned to his fountain customers.

Sherman made a direct run for the Sheriff's office, where inside he found the Sheriff busy looking over a map hanging on his wall. He called out to the Sheriff, "Sheriff Mike, Sheriff Mike."

The Sheriff turned to see the boy and said, "Well, hello again Sherman. Did you make it to school today?"

"Sure did," Sherman popped an envelope on the Sheriff's desk and pulled out two photos. He lifted one and pointed it towards the Sheriff, saying, "See, I have those pictures you wanted."

Sheriff Mike took a sip from a coke bottle and said, "You do now?" In a very nonchalant manner, the Sheriff took his seat behind the desk and inspected the photo. "What am I looking at here, Sherman?"

Sherman walked around the desk and looked, then he snatched the photo from the Sheriff's fingertips, rotated it upright, and placed it back in his fingers. Sherman took his index finger and began to trace elements on the photo and said, "See, that's the tires, and the door, and there inside is the steering wheel."

Sheriff Mike asked, "Are you sure this isn't some sort of new tool they are using at the construction site?"

"No, Sheriff Mike, honest. It's a car from the future. I saw the driver and everything. It crashed into our barn. If it's a tool, then why is it hiding behind the sign instead of being out with all the other tractors?"

"Yeah," Sheriff Mike popped his lips together a couple of times, "Yeah. It's something Sherman. But I don't really think it could be a car with a time traveler in it."

"You ain't going to even go check it out?" asked Sherman.

"Sherman, I am kind of busy right now. I don't have time to…"

Then there was the sound of squealing brakes and a crash from outside. The Sheriff jerked his head to attention, and with the photo in his hand, he dashed out the door, saying, "Sherman, you stay here."

The Sheriff stepped out the door and saw a convertible automobile had rammed a manure truck in the rear. Inside was a group of teen aged boys. The Sheriff recognized the driver and scowled, "Biff Tannen. I should have known."

The Sheriff marched to the car and said, "Biff, what is going on here?"

Biff looked up, covered in manure, and said, "Sheriff, it wasn't my fault. Really."

The Sheriff looked at the load of spilled manure and fanned at his nose, "Oh yeah, Biff? Whose fault is it this time?"

"I don't know. It's some kid out of nowhere, never seen him before. About my age."

The Sheriff was about to pull out his ticket book when he said, "What's that? Say again."

"Yeah, some kid, with long bangs and dressed strange. He could be a greaser, I don't know."

For the first time, Miss Blare may have had the right to be concerned over something. "Long bangs, dressed strange, never seen him before, stranger you say."

Biff growled, "That's what I said."

The Sheriff gave Biff a stern glare.

Biff apologized, "I mean yes sir. A stranger. He calls himself Calvin Klein. He's a real trouble maker. He started a fight at the diner and then jumped on this board, being pulled by a car…"

"Wait, a board pulled by a car?"

"Yes sir."

Sheriff Mike looked around at the other boys, "Is that true fellas?"

The rest of the boys agreed with what Biff had said. Biff asked, "You aren't going to write me a ticket are you Sheriff?"

The Sheriff said, "No. Not this time Biff." Sheriff Mike took another sniff and fanned his nose again, "This time I think the crime is the punishment."

Biff thanked the Sheriff, who was in deep thought as he walked away from the fender bender. He looked at the photo in his hand and remained in deep meditation. There were many strange things going on at one time now. A relatively quiet boy was startled and taking strange photos, a group of boys was behind him with a car full of manure: the gut instinct the Sheriff had developed over the years was telling him something was wrong. And nothing nagged at his gut more than the fact that Miss Blare had been right for once.

The Sheriff walked over to the office and began to enter his patrol car. Sherman was on the walk by the door to the office, and he called out, "You going to check it out Sheriff?"

The Sheriff looked at the photo one more time and thought about Miss Blare, then he replied, "Yeah… Sherman… I think I better go check this out."


	2. Chapter 2

"A police man's work is never done," said Sheriff Mike as he drummed his fingers on his steering wheel. "I haven't had a hot home cooked meal since I don't know when." The patrol car pulled up to the large sign advertising the coming Lyon Estates subdivision. Mike stepped out of the patrol car and braced his hands on his hips and looked at the sign, "Progress. You can't beat it back with a stick." He marched around the sign, "Well, let's get this over with."

Sheriff Mike stepped around the sign, and there was nothing there. He blew out a sigh and laughed. There was no glowing saucers or little green men, and he wiped the sweat from his brow with great relief. There was a considerable amount of brush lying all about behind the sign, but there was brush lying about everywhere. It was a construction zone in the landscaping phase, it was to be expected.

Mike began to whistle a happy tune, "I am so glad," he said. He climbed back in his patrol car and started his drive back to town. "Maybe I will get a hot meal tonight, after all."

The patrol car pulled back up in front of the Sheriff's Office, and Sherman had long since left for home. Sherman was well satisfied he had done the right thing, and matters were now in the right hands. Besides, he just bought a new comic, and it was time to be involved in it. The Sheriff stepped out of his car and into the office. As soon as he walked inside, the phone rang. He blew out a frustrated groan and said, "Well, then again, maybe it will be a cold dinner, again."

He put the receiver to his ear, "Hello? Yes, this is the Sheriff. Hello Miss Blare. Yes – yes – I remember – a vagrant. Yes – I haven't forgotten. What's that? Are you sure? Living with Doc Brown? No, I don't know why he would be living with Doc Brown – no I don't think it's anything like that – yes I think Doc is a little strange too, but he's a scientist, they are supposed to be – yes Miss Blare – I will check that out, I would like to speak to this young man myself – yes – first thing in the morning – good afternoon Miss Blare, and thank you."

The Sheriff placed the phone back down and said to himself, "Well, what do you know."

The deputy stepped in behind him and asked, "What do I know?"

The Sheriff smiled and said, "Oh, it's nothing. Just some strange things going on. Strange photographs, strange goings on in town, strange new people, and Miss Blare was right for once."

The deputy said, "Now, that is strange."

"Tell me about it. Seems we have new citizen in town. Everyone who I have spoke to says he is a little strange. But, Miss Blare thinks he is living with Emmett Brown, and if he is a relative of the old doc's, then the strange would be understood."

"And," the deputy added, "understated."

The next day the Sheriff drove out to Emmett Brown's home and knocked on his door. The Doctor was not in his home. He was busy in his work shop garage reverse engineering the Flux Capacitor and building a second one. "Great Scott," he said. "Genius, it's pure genius. I can't believe the simplicity of it." He grabbed a screw driver and began tightening a new screw in the second Flux Capacitor; he looked over and checked his schematics and notes. "I just have to wonder though, how it keeps shielded…"

A knock at his shop door sent the Doc into a freeze, he looked up in shock and began to scramble, covering his work. "One minute," he called out to whoever was knocking. The Doc pulled a canvas down which was partially covering the Delorean and straightened his lab coat, finger combed his hair back, and walked to the door. He only stuck his head out and saw the Sheriff, "Yes? Oh, Sheriff. How are you?"

The Sheriff waved his hand and said, "Good day to you Doc. You can just call me Mike."

"Oh, sure, Mike," and the Doc slid from the doorway outside, making sure to conceal anything behind him, and closed the door behind him.

"Something going on in there?" asked the Sheriff.

"Oh, no. Not really. Just some tinkering. You know, patented stuff. Plus it's a real mess in there."

The Sheriff said, "Nothing dangerous I hope? Nothing you don't have permits for?"

The Doc laughed nervously, "Oh, heavens no, Sheriff… Mike. All permitted, all safe…"

"Won't start a fire?"

The Doc laughed again and pointed at the Sheriff in a jiving manner, "Will not start a fire."

"I'm not joking, Emmett. The last fire you started…"

The Doc fanned his hands back nervously and said, "Well, yes, things did get a little out of hand THAT time. But I assure you, there is no danger of a fire with what I am working with today."

"Okay, good. Well Emmett, I have had a few calls… you know how some people are in this town, and there has been report of a young man living with you, a stranger…"

The Doc laughed, "Oh yes. Yes there is. My nephew."

"Your nephew?" the Sheriff asked?

"Yes, my nephew. Just visiting for a while… a short while… then he will be back off to when… where he came from." The Doctor rubbed his forehead, "Is there a problem with that?"

The Sheriff said, "Oh, no Emmett. Not a problem with that. It's not against the law to have a visitor."

"He's not in any trouble is he?"

The Sheriff scratched at his head some, "Well, Emmett, there has been some disturbances, minor I may add. No real proof he was involved, some of it from a less than savory source. I just had to come out and check things. He's not here because he was getting in trouble back home?"

"No. Nothing like that. He's a fine, fine boy. Good kid. Just in for a visit. I don't get to see him a lot. He's my only nephew, Marty is."

"Marty? Someone from town told me his name is Calvin Klein."

The Doc's voice rose in pitch, "Yes, Calvin Klein. My sister's son. She married a Klein. A good family, the Kleins. His name is Calvin Matthew Klein. I call him Marty, sort of a pet name."

"Ah ha." The Sheriff gave the Doc a most curious stare, then snapped out of it, "Well, then. Good to know you have it all under control."

"Yes sir," Doc said, "It's all under control here. Nothing out of the bounds of control."

The Sheriff shyly nodded and said, "Okay, then Doc. I will let you get back to work."

The two began to depart, one to his patrol car and one back into his garage, when the Sheriff stopped, turned and said, "Hey Doc."

The Doc froze in place, a look of horror on his face, "Yes, Sheriff?"

Sheriff Mike was digging in his pocket for something and found it, a photograph. "You're a pretty smart guy. Have you ever seen one of these?"

The Doc took the photo from the Sheriff and saw the Delorean time machine. His eyes were wide in shock, the hand holding the photo trembled a little, and he gulped. He then said, in a bright and cheery fashion, "This, yes, well this is unique indeed."

"Then you know what it is?"

"Sure I do. Very expensive weather monitoring equipment. Not many of them made."

The Sheriff said, "Weather monitoring, huh?" He took the photo back and said, "Yeah, well I could see that. I just have to wonder why they would have one over at the Lyon Estates construction site."

"Well, Sheriff, construction halts with bad weather. There is a lot of money going in to that sub division. I wouldn't be surprised if they were keeping abreast any changes which could delay them in the distant future."

The Sheriff pursed his lips, "The distant future? How far in the future can this machine predict the weather?"

The Doc looked at the Sheriff with grave sincerity, "Far, far in to the future."

The Sheriff laughed and shook the photo towards the Doc in a jester of a wag, "You won't believe this, but a kid… Otis Peabody's boy, Sherman, took this picture. He was convinced this was a time machine… came from the future."

The Doc let out a boisterous façade of a laugh and wiggled his fingers around his head, "Kid's. What imaginations"

The Sheriff agreed, "Yeah, what imaginations. Well, be seeing you Doc."

The Sheriff finally left and Doc Brown swept back into his shop, slamming the door behind him. "Great Scott. I have to hurry. The coppers are almost on to us."

The night was here. It was the night the teens in Hill Valley had all been looking forward to, it was the night of 'The Enchantment Under The Sea Dance.' Sheriff Mike placed his key next to the Sheriff's office door to unlock it when he noticed the light was on inside, and the door already unlocked. He stepped inside and saw his deputy there. The Sheriff said, "I thought you were going to take the night off."

The deputy replied, "I didn't have anything else to do tonight. Plus, the weather is supposed to get kind of nasty. I thought you might need a little help."

The Sheriff sat behind his desk and said, "Well, thanks. The dance should be about over. Any troubles?"

"No sir. It's all quiet as church out there."

The phone rang.

Sheriff Mike's head slumped, "I guess I am just in time for that to change." He answered the phone, "Hello? Hello Miss Blare," the Sheriff stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes, "What can I do for you now Miss Blare? Yes- yes. What? Are you sure? Okay. Yes, we will Miss Blare. Thank you."

The Sheriff hung up the phone and the deputy laughed, "What's the matter? Too many poodle skirts running around tonight?"

"No," said Sheriff Mike. "She said there is some funny activity over at the clock tower. She said it looks like Doctor Emmett Brown."

The deputy asked, "Need me to go check it out?"

"Yeah. Why don't you do that. Make sure the Doctor isn't about to set a fire or anything."

"Sure thing," said the deputy. He started out the door. The Sheriff asked, "Taking a patrol car?"

"No, it's a short walk."

The deputy stepped out and noticed the wind had begun to blow hard; he looked up in the sky. "Nasty weather."

When the deputy arrived at the clock tower, indeed the Doctor was there. Some sort of contraction was covered by a canvas on a pull behind, and the doctor was messing with a long line coming across the clock tower grounds. The deputy asked what the doctor had going on, and the doctor explained the contraction was a weather monitoring device, and promised the deputy there would be no fires.

The deputy returns to the Sheriff's office and updates the Sheriff. The Sheriff asked, "A weather monitoring device?"

"Yep."

The Sheriff pulled open a desk drawer and removed a photograph. He reached up and gave it to the deputy asking, "Did it look like this?"

The deputy looked at the photo, "Well. Sort of. I guess…" Then the deputy noticed something in the photo which was exactly like what was under the canvas out by the clock tower, "Wait. Yeah. This is it. This is what is under the canvas out there."

The Sheriff took the photo in his shirt pocket and grabbed his hat. The deputy asked, "What's wrong?"

"Maybe nothing, maybe something. The Doc and I had a little talk about this weather monitor just the other day."

"What, is it dangerous?"

The Sheriff was on his way out the door, "I don't know. But I don't think the Doctor is supposed to have it."

The deputy laughed, "You think he stole it? Emmett Brown? Come on…"

The Sheriff said, "There's only one way to find out. I'll be back in a bit."

The deputy inquired, "You don't need back up?"

"With Emmett Brown? No. I need you here by the phone in case we get any calls."

The deputy said, "Will do, Sheriff."

There was a crack of lightning as soon as the Sheriff stepped out the door. Anxiously he looked up into the storm rolling through the sky. There it was again, that gut feeling he could not ignore, the one which told him something was very wrong. He began to trot down the street when he heard the roar of a car engine, a very powerful car engine. The clock tower peeked above the trees, and the Sheriff began to trot faster. Again, there was a powerful revving of a car engine. The Sheriff's feet went faster.

The Sheriff rounded the corner of the street on which the clock tower stood. Flying down the street was some sort of strange car, or weather monitoring device, it was so odd looking the Sheriff could not make up his mind which he wished to think of it as.

The car came streaking up the road, and then there was a bright flash of light as lightning struck the clock tower. Snaps of energy spilled out in front of the car, flashing harsh shadows across the Sheriff's face, and then the car was gone. The Sheriff could not blink. If the car had exploded, there should have been something left behind. It was as if it had vanished. It was as if it had left this street in a cloud of fire and smoke with the expectation of coming back out somewhere else.

The Sheriff removed his hat, "Sherman was right. It's a car traveling through time."


	3. Chapter 3

The Flux Capacitor did work; Marty had traveled back to his home in 1985 and Doctor Emmett Brown had been there to witness it. Unfortunately, Emmett knew there was no time to celebrate, even though he argued within his mind if this was true, time suddenly being so flexible. There were more, higher priorities to consider; especially now he was sure the Sheriff was investigating the issue. Doctor Brown hurried back to his shop and paced nervously behind his work bench, upon which sat the second Flux Capacitor.

"Emmett," he spoke out loud to himself, "Emmett, Emmett, Emmett. What have you done? Do you realize what you have done? Time travel! What was I thinking? There is no way to tell what sort of circumstances I may have already created which alter the future in ways which are… which are… too variable to contemplate."

He lifted the Flux Capacitor and spoke to it as if it were someone, "I should destroy you now," and he grabbed a roll of technical prints, "and all of the plans which describe you or even so much as mention you. Should you ever fall in to the wrong hands…"

His eyes then widened, "The Sheriff, he knows something odd is going on. He's snooping around, asking questions. What does he know already? I can't allow him to stumble upon all of this. The information would go up the ladder to the governor, then the president. Then what are they going to do? Give me a medal? I would think not." Brown stepped closely to a poster of Albert Einstein, "What did they do with your knowledge, heh, Albert? You simply created an equation and they built a bomb from it. Could you imagine what they would do if they ever got their hands on this?" he shook the rolls of papers in front of the poster as if he were waiting for it to respond.

"Well, we just won't let that happen," he said. "I have a plan for just an emergency. Plan Exodus. I thought I would never have to use it," he sat the Flux Capacitor by the lamp on the table along with the rolls of plans. He pulled a map down on the wall, "Plan Exodus," and while he rattled on, he did not notice tiny strings of blue electricity sifting from the lamp bulb to the Flux Capacitor. "Let's see now, where is my cousin Elliot Brown living now?" More and more strings of pwer came down to the Flux Capacitor as he studied the map, "Somewhere in Nevada I think. I should have it circled," his finger traced over the map and found the circle. "Ah, there it is."

There was large pop and crackle, Emmett Brown turned to see the glows of power stabbing the Flux Capacitor. The bulb popped and blew out. Emmett startled and said, "So, that's the reason there was a lead shielding around the capacitor. It has a very powerful and inherit draw on electricity when not shielded. That could distort the amount of power it receives while in flux."

Emmett grabbed a suitcase from a closet, "Luckily, the Sheriff doesn't know much which will buy me some time…"

There was a knock at the Doctor's door and he whispered in a panicked tone, "Great Scott!"

A voice from outside the door said, "Doctor Brown, it's the Sheriff. I need to talk to you about something very strange I saw tonight."

Rattled, the Doctor whispered again and clutched the Flux Capacitor from the table, "No time. He's here already." The Doctor cupped his hand by his mouth and quietly opened his car door, "What is it Sheriff, I am very busy right now."

"Doctor Brown, I saw you tonight with the so called weather monitor, and I saw it disappear into nothing while speeding down the street. I don't know what you are up to Doctor Brown, but we need to speak about it."

Emmett sat the Flux Capacitor in the car beside him and slowly closed the car door, all the while shouting from the window, "Okay Sheriff, I will be out in just a moment."

The Sheriff was standing out by the common entry to the garage, "I'm not sure what it is I saw, but Doc, I'm afraid you are tampering with something which could place the community at large in jeopardy."

The Sheriff jumped back as the Doctor's car came smashing through the garage door. Barely missing injury from the debris of the shattered door, not to mention being ran over by Emmett Brown, the Sheriff shielded his face and body with his arms. Doctor Brown's car swerved, hit a garbage can, throwing garbage high in the air, and straightened up with squealing wheels while it shot down the road. The Sheriff screamed out, "Doctor Brown, stop." He jumped into his patrol car and switched the lights on in pursuit.

There was only a trail of dust to follow, the Doctor had a good head start. Emmett Brown drove out into the rural area and came to a sliding halt in an open field. Thunder still roared overhead and he exited the car, running and leaving the car door standing open. The object of his desire was some fifty feet away, a crop duster.

Awkwardly, the Doctor crawled up the side of the plane and dropped the Flux Capacitor in the rear seat. He turned the ignition on the plane and it sputtered to a start. An old pair of goggles was pulled down over his eyes, and the reflection from the approaching police car flickered off the lenses. Emmett pushed the throttle down and the engine of the plane roared at a high pitch. While the plane began to roll, Emmett saw the Sheriff standing by his patrol car waving his arms. Emmett shouted, though the Sheriff could not hear a single word over the plane's engine, "Sorry Sheriff. I can't allow you to know anything about this. I hope you will understand."

The crop duster bounced a few times before liftoff and Emmett said, "I hope Elliot doesn't mind surprise guests." A gale of wind from the storm rocked the plane, "I forgot how much I hate flying."

Sheriff Mike dropped his hands by his sides and muttered, "Dammit doc." He sat back down in the patrol car and called in to the office on the two way radio. "I'm sorry. I am going to be a little late coming back in. I have a possible crime scene to investigate."

Rain had started to fall when the police car pulled back in front of Emmett Brown's garage. The Sheriff already dreaded the phone call he would receive the next day from Miss Blare concerning all of this. He stepped in out of the rain and began to look around the laboratory. The first thing to catch his attention was the map hanging on the wall. The Sheriff studied the map for a few moments, mumbling to himself, "Okay, Doctor Brown. Where are you going?" After a few more moments of watching the map, he saw the red circle. "Nevada, Doc? Are you going to Nevada?"

The Sheriff noticed the roll of paper sitting by the blown lamp which the doctor had left behind in his haste. The rubber band popped off the end as the Sheriff rolled it off the roll. He flattened the sheets out on the table and began to read intermittently, "Diagrams and procedures… Doctor Emmett Brown… Power vectors with relativity sequences… Speed allowances per watt ratios… Flux Capacitor." The Sheriff's mouth dropped, "Tested and successful, time travel."

The Sheriff rubbed his upper lip, "This is impossible. But I saw…" and yes, he remembered he had seen it. Otherwise, reading this document would have made him laugh, as though it were some sort of elaborate joke. "What could Emmett Brown do with time travel? Is this legal?"

The Sheriff rolled the papers up and said, "I have to call someone. I have to report this. But who is going to believe me? I will need to call… I don't know. The FBI?"

The Sheriff tucked the papers under his coat and walked back out to his car.

The storm which had hit Hill Valley was massive, and spanned over the mountains of California and into Nevada. Some areas of the storm were worse than others, and though Emmett Brown had witnessed a segment of the storm violent enough to destroy to the town clock tower, he had not encountered worst yet. Emmett would screech at times when the wind would whip the plane in the air, and he would flinch at flashes of lightening and the claps of thunder. Sometimes, he would flinch so hard the plane would dip.

The Doctor looked over the edge of the plane and saw what he knew to be his cousin Elliot's country home in the desert. A bright and cheerful smile came over his face, but was quickly wiped away by the largest clap of thunder he had heard yet. This was when he discovered he was in the most violent segment of storm yet. The wind whipped the plane to and fro, causing groans and rattles which sounded as though the plane were about to rip apart.

Ribbons of bluish electricity began to flow from the clouds above and circle about the plane. The Doctor looked back at the Flux Capacitor which was also emitting the same pale glow. "Egad," he wiped. The Doc started his decent as more ribbons of power began to play around the plane. Emmett tried to fly around them, but they were drawn to the Flux Capacitor.

"I have to get this plane out of the air, at the speed I am going a bolt of lightning would trigger a temporal displacement," cried out Doctor Brown.

A very close bolt of lightning flashed in front of the plane, and the ribbons of power streaming into the rear seat of the crop duster began to pulse. Emmett Brown gasped in panic and began to wiggle the stick in the plane, trying desperately to shake the ribbons of energy loose. A fierce gale of wind whipped the plane to the left. Emmett Brown screeched in hysteria, and the ribbons of raw electricity folded on one another as the plane rolled, warping and binding around one another, weaving one singular and massive rope of energy. The dark cloud above the plane glowed for a split second, and a bolt of lightning rode the glowing power rope down into the back of plane, striking the Flux Capacitor.

Without a destination in time set, the plane vanished.

A balding man with tiny spectacles said, in a thick nerdish accent, "Don't worry Sheriff. I am sure with the storm and everything happening, what you may have seen was probably an optical illusion." The man was wearing an expensive black suit, and he was accompanied by two men dressed similarly. They were speaking to Sheriff Mike inside of his office.

The Sheriff replied, "It was a pretty convincing illusion."

"Yes," the balding man replied. His name was Alexander Kroft, but he normally answered to Kroft alone. "I have looked this over," and the rolled documents from Emmett Brown's laboratory was in his hand, "and there is no way any of this is real. A lot of theory, but mostly the nonsensical scribblings of a very disturbed man."

The Sheriff nodded; this he could agree with. "Well, I thank you men from the FBI for showing up so quickly and taking this matter seriously."

The balding man said, "We will be taking these papers with us, and not because we believe there is any legitimacy to it, of course, but because the Cold War is growing. This is why we came so quickly. One can never be too sure when a paper labeled 'Time Machine' could be in secret the plans for a bomb."

The Sheriff lifted a brow, "You don't think the Doctor is dangerous… that he has switched sides?"

The suited balding man replied, "The real question is, Sheriff, was he ever really on our side to begin with. I have sent some men out to keep an eye on the location in Nevada, but the good Doctor has not shown up there. If he should return, stay away from him, and call us."

The Sheriff shook hands with the balding man and said, "Sure thing. And once again, thanks for rushing out."


	4. Chapter 4

A near blinding flash stunned Emmett Brown when the Flux Capacitor activated, as brief as the flash of a camera only far more intense. Afterwards his vision was clouded by a green aura, and he saw the rolling, black thunder cloud had been replaced with a clear blue sky. His plane had weathered the lightning strike so well, the wings were singed and smoking, scattered with holes, the rudder fried to a crisp, flaps of hull barely clinging: to sum it up, he was going down. A horrible whine and whistle filled his ears caused by the near vertical descent of the plane. A deep, dark plume of smoke rolled out of the engine which sputtered and coughed. There were streaks of grime covering his goggle lenses, and he wiped them somewhat clean with his forearm, "Great Scott!"

With an iron grip on the stick, Emmett Brown pulled back with all of his might and leveled the plane out. It was a much better orientation, but the landing was still going to be very rough. The landing gear touched down on hot desert sand, bouncing, and breaking one off, to find the plane lying still much like a beached whale. The propeller cried like a diseased bird until it stopped. The Doctor's head popped out of the smoking heap, and he patted himself down, searching for pain or blood, and found surprisingly he was intact.

Doctor Brown rolled out of the wreckage head first and grabbed the Flux Capacitor as quickly as he stood upright. "See, Emmett. Look at what you have done. This contraption was a very bad idea." He tucked the Flux Capacitor under his arm and gazed off in the distance. "Now, I pretty much know where I am. The question is WHEN I am." He began his march across the hot Nevada sand.

"How could I be so stupid?" he said with exaggerated brow and free hand. "Time was meant to go forward, be unchanged. We need our fates to be unshakable, not erasable." He gave the Flux Capacitor a pat, "Well, at least I have this with me, safe from the hands of whoever might abuse this power."

The doctor stopped in his tracks with shock, "Egad. I forgot my plans and diagrams." He spun around twice, thumping his forehead with the butt of his palm, "Stupid, stupid, stupid. The plans, I left them on my work bench. I have to get back, and keep them from being seen. But first I need to get my time bearing. I may be back in the past, so I can go home and stop these events from ever happening."

"Of course, I did not finish writing it all down. So maybe who ever finds the plans will not be able to finish the Flux Capacitor in its entirety."

In the distance Emmett saw a grand home, a mansion almost. Far more luxurious than his cousin Elliot had ever owned. "Hm. I wonder if I have displaced location as well as time. Could I have jumped space as well as time?" He paused for a moment and said, "Well, there is only one way to find out."

Emmett knocked on the door of the luxurious home and called, "Hello. Hello." He rapped harder on the expensive hard wood, "Anyone home?"

After some more knocking, the door parted some and a grey, wildly haired man answered the door. He had many of the similar features of Emmett Brown. His eyes were wild with curiosity as he scanned them over the stranger knocking at his door, "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Hello to you, sir," said Emmett. "I am looking for Doctor Elliot Brown, scientist and inventor."

The older man furrowed and said, "Doctor Elliot Brown is not home. I don't know what you are selling, but I am very busy."

Emmett stopped the closing door with his hand, "Wait, do you know when he will be back. It's very important."

The grey haired man poked his head back out, "He is not here. Now, please, go away."

"But do you have any idea of when he will return?"

Angrily, the grey haired man said, "I do know when or if the good Doctor will return. Go away."

The door slammed. Emmett shouted, "Okay then. If you see him, please tell him his cousin Emmett Brown came by." Emmett shifted the weight of the Flux Capacitor in his arms and turned to leave, but the door sprang wide open. Emmett turned to see the grey haired man in white shorts and flowered leisure shirt. The two stood, gaping at one another.

The grey haired man said, "Impossible. You are far too young to be Emmett Brown."

Emmett said, "But I am Emmett Brown."

The grey haired man scoffed, "Emmett Brown has been missing for the past twenty seven years, shortly after he was reported to be a Russian spy and on the most wanted fugitive in America."

"Twenty seven years? Oh no, I have gone to the future."

"What are you talking about?" asked the grey haired man.

"I am Emmett Brown. I have been missing for twenty seven years because I traveled in time, accidently, to this year from 1955."

The grey haired man peered at Emmett, "What kind of charade are you trying to pull? I admit you favor the young Emmett Brown, but there is no such thing as time travel."

Emmett said, "I am afraid, unfortunately, travel is real. I invented it. And I know you are Elliot Brown. I have known it for some time. You have aged well."

Elliot Brown hushed through his index finger, grabbed Emmett by the arm, and pulled him aggressively into the house and slammed the door. He combed his fingers through his hair and said, "If you are Emmett Brown, tell me something only the two of us would know."

"Grandmother used to put lemon in her…"

"…in her coffee," finished Elliot. "It was disgusting." Elliot's face lit up, "Emmett, it is you." The two embraced and Elliot said, "I thought I would never see again. And I never dreamt it would be under such… strange… circumstances. You look good."

"You don't seem to have done so badly for yourself," Emmett referenced the expensive home.

"Yes, you could say being an inventor has paid off."

"Oh, so you invented something and made a bundle from the sells?" asked Emmett.

Elliot smiled and shrugged, "You could say something… like that."

"So what did you invent?"

Elliot suddenly behaved as though he had lost place in the conversation, "Huh, what's that?"

"I said, what did you invent? What's the invention which brought you all this moolah?" 

Elliot said, "Why don't you come down to the garage and take a look at my car collection. I have quite a few super nice automobiles."

Emmett became cross, "Elliot Herman Brown, ever since we were kids you have never been able to keep a secret from me, and usually when try, it means you have done something very bad. You didn't rob a bank did you?"

Elliot was red and defensive, "Of course not, Emmett. Do you take me for a thief?"

"There was the one time in church when the offering plate came around…"

With a raised and indignant index finger Elliot said, "We were only ten, and I gave the money back."

Emmett growled, "After I threatened to tell grandmother."

"Did you come twenty seven years in the future just to point out my short comings?"

Emmett took a deep breath, "No," he said calmly. "I did not travel into the future on purpose at all. I had to execute plan Exodus."

Elliot startled, "Holy moly! Plan Exodus? That's a last ditch effort, Emmett. What did you do?"

Emmett held out the Flux Capacitor and frowned, "Time travel, Elliot. I've already told you. I have to keep it from the hands of those might misuse its power."

"Oh… yeah. How did that go?"

"Not too good, Elliot. I came back twenty seven years later as a fugitive." There was an awkward pause and then Emmett shook with frustration, "Now, stop changing the subject Elliot. How did you get all of this money?" 

"I won it."

Emmett was becoming tired of the charades, "Elliot, enough lies. You have never had a lucky streak in your entire life."

"No, really." Elliot had an exciting grin on his face, "Oh, I have been waiting for the day I could tell this to someone who would appreciate it," he briskly walked over to a painting hanging above his massive fireplace, "someone with an intellectual curiosity which matches my own." Elliot slid the painting, (of himself, seated in a large leather chair with two Dalmatians seated at his feet), to reveal a safe embedded in the wall. "Someone who could understand the complexities of quantum probability and outcome sets," he punched in a combination on the key pad of the safe and opened it.

From where Emmett stood, the safe appeared empty, but he could plainly see Elliot reach in and carefully remove something, as though it were precious and fragile. Elliot turned to face Emmett with his hands cupped together, hiding whatever was between them; and there was no mistaking the child like glee on the older man's face.

"Hold out your hand," Elliot said as he offered the secret in his.

Emmett held out his hand and was gently given a ring. It was thick and flat grey, bulbous on the top side. Emmett asked, "Are you proposing to me or something?"

"No, no. This is how I won the money."

Emmett was confused, "I don't understand."

"This is no ordinary ring. You will not find one like it anywhere in the world. Fifteen years ago I took this ring to Vegas One,"

Emmett was again confused, "Vegas One?"

Elliot's voice rose in pitch, "Oh, that's right. You have been gone for the past twenty seven years. Approximately twenty years ago, Vegas Two, the second Las Vegas, was built in New York. Then eventually came the other two."

Emmett gasped, "The other two?"

"Yes, yes. There's four of them now. I only go to Vegas One, the original. Well, I used to go to Vegas One. I haven't been back since my big winning."

Like a parent chastising a child, Emmett asked, "Haven't been back or couldn't go back?"

"You don't understand, Emmett. This ring can force the outcome of slot machines to always cash out big."

Emmett gritted his teeth, "Oh, Elliot, it's worse than robbing a bank. You robbed Vegas. Do you know what will happen if they ever get their hands on you."

Staring blankly, Elliot said, "Nothing good."

"You always had an issue with gambling Elliot. This is wrong and dangerous," Emmett jammed the ring in his pocket, "I don't want this within your grasp until I have left, I had rather not known about it at all."

Elliot frowned, "You don't understand…"

"Oh, I am afraid I understand all too well."

Elliot snapped his fingers, "Well, come to the garage, you have to see my auto collection."

"Elliot, I do not have time to look at cars or go joy riding. I have to get back to the past, 1955, and make sure no one gets their hands on the plans for the Flux Capacitor and does irreparable damage to the stream of time."

Elliot asked, "How do you know time hasn't already been changed?"

Emmett placed a finger to his chin, "That's a good question, Elliot. Let me think." There was a few moments of pondering and then Emmett said, "Ah, I've got it. I recently had the dealings – long story – with a young man from the year 1985. He told me, in the year 1985, the President of the United States would be Ronald Regan."

Elliot laughed, "Ronald Regan? Mad Dog Regan?"

Emmett said, "I am afraid you lost me there. Is he or is he not President of the United States?"

Elliot said, "Emmett, there is no President of the United States. There is a World Prime Minister, however. His name is Robert Redford."

Emmett staggered, "No United States. No Regan as President. Oh no. Things are far worse than I thought."

Elliot said, "Mad Dog Regan lost his life during the Mech Campaign in World War Four."

Emmett staggered again, "World War Four, when did this happen?"

Elliot calmly replied, "Five years before World War Five. None of which, by the way, were fought on U.S. soil. We won each of them, and then unified the world."

Emmett slumped down on Elliot's couch, "This is bad, Elliot. So bad. Apparently the government gained control of the Flux Capacitor's plans and has drastically changed the time stream."

Elliot said, "Then it's no wonder that you were declared a fugitive. They must want to make sure you can never travel back and undo what they have done."

Emmett snapped his fingers, "Of course."

"The only question I have is why now?"

Emmett asked, "What?"

"Now, why now? Why did you come to 1983 to escape?"

Emmett explained, "It wasn't on purpose. I was simply going to travel to Nevada by plane. But the Flux Capacitor needs to be moving at least eighty eight miles per hour and supplied by one point one gigawatts of electricity…"

Elliot shouted, "One point one gigawatts? That's insane. How did you ever generate that much power?"

Emmett said, "The plane was hit by lightning."

Elliot nodded, "That would do it."

"I didn't have any destination software attached to the Flux Capacitor to open the correct frequencies in the temporal time stream. So it just came to 1983. But why? Why 1983, of all the time in the world?"

Elliot said, "Yeah, why 1983, of all the time in the world."

Emmett said, "I require an answer, not an echo…" then Emmett slapped his forehead with his palm. "An echo, that's it."

"What's it?"

Emmett was up and pacing, "Why didn't I think of it before. An echo; a temporal echo. Like ripples or a wake left in the time stream."

"I am still not following you."

"Oh, you always were bad with relativity Elliot. Marty, I sent Marty back to 1985. He opened a fracture in the time stream, and when it closed, it left behind an echo. My Flux Capacitor triggered with not guidance system, and simply slipped into the path left behind by Marty's time jump."

Elliot asked, "Then why didn't you go back to 1985?"

"Because, echoes and ripples lose energy with time. Eventually they disperse and become energy such as heat or whatever."

Elliot said, "So, you need eighty eight miles per hour and one point one gigawatts of power."

"Yes," said Emmett.

Elliot smiled, "I know I can help you with the eighty eight."

The florescent bulbs to Elliot's garage flickered on to reveal a fleet of exotic cars. There were custom and classic autos of all shapes and colors. Elliot said, "It has taken quite a while to accumulate such a diverse collection. Believe me there are cars here which will do much more than eighty eight. I personally prefer the seventy three Lamborghini, though you may have to twist my arm on that one."

Emmett moved Elliot aside and walked past him, entranced. "No, I don't care for the Lamb."

Elliot watched as Emmett walked by the sixty eight Camaro, "Yeah, the Camaro. Nothing like a muscle car to make a statement."

But Emmett walked by the Camaro and continued, past the Mustang and past the two formula racers, to the rear corner of the garage.

Elliot asked, "Really? That one? You like that one?"

Emmett was standing by an eighty two, stainless steel DeLorean, "Yeah. I have a feeling this is the one."

"Well," Elliot said apprehensively, "it is stylish."

Emmett agreed, "And I might as well do it in style."

Elliot said, "Now, that's one piece. But I have no idea how we are going to get the one point one gigawatts of electricity."

Emmett said, "Well, we will just have to think. There are several ways, and you obviously have funds. Let's see… eight million hamster wheels… no too much space. Hm. Oh, it's impossible to do without plutonium."

Elliot said, "Plutonium. You would never get your hands on that unless you promised to build a bomb for someone. But no one would want that. The world is unified. "

"Yeah. It's a stupid amount of electricity. Do you know how many homes you can light with that much power?"

Elliot brazed a broad smile and snapped his fingers, "I know a place where you can get enough power to light up that many lights."

Emmett looked at his cousin dumbfounded, but soon he understood. "You mean?"

"Vegas. The power coming in to Vegas would do it. Massive amounts of electricity goes into Vegas."

Emmett was skeptical, "Are you sure this is isn't so you can go back to Vegas and cheat and rob more casinos?"

"No. After all, you have the ring. I am only interested in getting you back home."

Emmett thought for a second, "Yeah. It could work. I could fashion another hook or something like I did with Marty, and snag the power line."

"You just better hope the car goes in to time, otherwise it is going to fry."

Emmett rolled a large toolbox to the DeLorean and sat the Flux Capacitor on top of it. He grabbed a power wrench and pulled the trigger, making a loud racket. Elliot asked with concern on his face, "What are you doing?"

Emmett said as pulled out a hack saw, "There will need to be some modifications."

The plane wreckage had stopped smoking and was baking in the heat. A tall dark man in a black suit was standing by it. He removed a phone from his coat pocket and dialed it, "This is Vector One. I need a verification crew. I believe the lost sheep has finally came home."


	5. Chapter 5

Doctor Emmett Brown woke with a start. His head had been leaning on the passenger side window of the DeLorean, which was now modified with all of the gadgets needed to give the Flux Capacitor direction. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window, but could only see the darkness of the night. "How much farther until we are in Vegas?"

Elliot was intensely driving, "Not too many more miles. Perhaps twenty or so."

"Good. Good."

Elliot motioned his hand over the time machine console and asked, "So, how does all of this work?"

"Well," Emmett leaned up and pointed to the console as he explained, "This reads where we are in time, this one where we want to go, and this one where we have been."

"So, what's your plan to fix all of this?"

Emmett scratched his chin, "The Sheriff is the key to all of this. He was suspicious there was something going on. When he knocked on my door the night I executed Plan Exodus, he mentioned that he had seen something at the clock tower. This was also when Marty had gone back to 1985. I have to go back and stop the Sheriff from ever seeing the car back in time."

Elliot responded, "Sounds solid. But I have to bring something up to you which you may have not considered."

"And pray tell what would that be?"

"If you succeed, you will stop yourself from executing Plan Exodus, and ever going back in time to begin with. This means there will be two of you trapped in the past." Elliot smiled devilishly, "Sort of a problem isn't it?"

Emmett said, "No, not really. Marty came back to me in 1955 from 1985. He accidently altered the time line, causing himself and his family to have never existed. Slowly, his family faded, erasing the future event, and almost erasing himself."

"So, you are saying, when you correct the future, and do not execute Plan Exodus, you will erase the future after that point which has been altered."

"That's correct," Emmett nodded with arms crossed.

"Then, that makes you, the version of Emmett Brown sitting by me now, the one which will erase." Elliot paused for a moment, waiting for a reply and got none. He asked, "How does that make you feel?"

"It's not like it is my death or anything. The other version of me, the correct version I may add, will be there, still alive and moving to the future."

Elliot said, "So, I am sitting by a time ghost."

"Don't forget, this version of you will be erased also. But you will never know the difference."

"You told me this was the exact same automobile Marty came back from the future in. How will the other you know to come to me and get this car?" asked Elliot.

"Ah, good question, and this is where things begin to get a bit strange. When Marty disrupted the time line, erasing himself and his family, he also destroyed the fact he ever went back in time to begin with. Correct?"

Elliot agreed, "Yes, that is true."

Emmett smiled from ear to ear, "The DeLorean never began to fade away, even when the time stream was altered. This means the inherit nature of the Flux Capacitor makes it a gateway which must remain in order for any changes in time to happen to begin with."

"So, you will fade away to nothing, but the car will remain?"

"Yes, precisely. And I will turn it over to myself in the past."

"Do you think it's a good idea to meet yourself in the past?" asked Elliot. 

"I don't know. I will have to think that one over a bit."

A distant glow on the horizon changed the conversation, "There it is, Vegas," said Elliot with a hungry eye.

Emmett was somewhat mystified by the many lights as they drove through Vegas One. He even joyfully pointed at another DeLorean on the strip and commented, "Looks like someone else has style here." As they approached the exit of town, where the main power feeds were coming in, Emmett began to punch numbers into the time console. "So, I need to go back to 1955 on the day I left… no, make it the day before… and add a couple of hours for good measure so I have time to drive there and maybe grab some breakfast."

Elliot pulled the car over on the side of the road and opened his door, "Okay, let's get it set up."

Emmett also stepped out of the car and removed a heavy lead shield from the rear. He placed a meter long copper rod with a ball on it where the shield was. Now the car had an absurd looking, thick antennae poking up from behind the cab. Already it began to have a haunting blue glow on the tip of the copper rod. "So," said Emmett, "with the shield removed, the Flux Capacitor draws electricity. And as you can see, it is already drawn to the massive amount of power coming into the city."

Elliot had a gratuitous smile and shook Emmett's hand, "I guess this is where we part ways. You should tell the other Emmett Brown to look me up sometime while we are still young."

"Yeah. I will try to do that. Don't want to wait until we both get old and grey." Emmett climbed into the driver's seat, but before closing the door said, "Be seeing you again, sooner than now."

He spun the car around and revved the engine. The main lines coming into Vegas One were not far ahead. Elliot waved at him with the same gracious smile, and Emmett waved back. Punching down on the accelerator, Emmett focused on the road as the car boiled tired. The tip of the copper rod was now glowing brightly, and there was a faint glow going down to the Flux Capacitor. The same glow had begun to dance and trickle over the power lines as the DeLorean flew closer.

Emmett looked down at the console and saw 1955 on the destination board, "Show me the way home baby."

Ribbons of power were now streaming in the air, joining the car to the power lines. They were becoming thicker as the car came closer and closer. Emmett could smell the faint ozone in the cab of the DeLorean. The ribbons of power were now converging, becoming one thick stream of oozing, pulsating power.

In an instance, there was spark in the console of the time machine, and the destination numbers went blank. Emmett gasped, "Oh no." He threw the switch which dismantled the time machine readings, but the power ribbons were still becoming thicker. The Flux Capacitor was exposed, without the shield it would trigger itself. Emmett stood on the brakes and the car screeched to a stop. He jammed it into reverse and pulled away backwards. Emmett knew the eighty eight miles per hour was needed, but he had no idea what would happen if the Flux triggered while exposed at a slower speed. He was frantic to get away from the power lines.

The Delorean spun around and squealed its tires, heading back to Elliot, who was watching with a confused and tilted head, "That doesn't look right."

The power ribbon stretched until it snapped with a loud spark. The DeLorean pulled up next to Elliot and Emmett stepped out. Elliot asked, "What happened?"

"Well, apparently with the shield removed from the Flux Capacitor, I did not compensate extra insulation on the time machine frequency controller."

"Is it fixable?" asked Elliot.

Emmett placed his fists on his hips as he inspected the outside of the smoking car, "Yes, yes. It will only take a few hours to remove the frequency unit, patch it up, and insulate it properly." He dusted an area atop the open door, "I just need someplace to fix it."

Elliot said, "I know just the place."

The DeLorean pulled in front of the Dune's hotel and casino. A valet came to the door of the auto and Emmett Brown stepped out, clutching the frequency controller. The valet smirked questioningly at the car with the many gadgets wrapped around it. Emmett told the valet, "Sensitive weather monitoring equipment. Wave of the future."

The valet gave a simple nod, took the keys, and sat in the car. As Emmett and Elliot walked through the casino to the elevator, Emmett said, "Don't look at any of it, Elliot. Stay strong."

Once inside their room, Emmett began to work on the controller. He was intensely involved with unscrewing the back plate when Elliot said, "Is there anything you need?"

Emmett said, "Oh no. I am fine. Looks mostly like charred wiring. When I place it back in the DeLorean, I will set it back beneath the shielding screen and it should hold up just fine."

Elliot said, "Okay. I am a bit hungry."

Emmett said, "Yeah, I could go for a bit also. Call up some room service."

"I think it would be better if I went down to the restaurant and ordered there."

Emmett stopped his work and pointed the screwdriver at Elliot, "Elliot, no gambling. I mean it."

Elliot laughed nervously, "What? Why, I wasn't even thinking of it. Besides, you have my ring, and I wouldn't dare…"

Emmett said sternly, "I mean it Elliot. None. Nada."

Elliot asked, "What sort of food would you like?"

Emmett said, "Some kind of sandwich. Tuna maybe, on rye if they have it."

"Sure," and Elliot stepped out the door.

The lights and colors of the casino entranced Elliot when he stepped off the elevator. He saw the restaurant across the floor and began to head that way when he heard, "Hey, try your hand. Black jack. You look lucky sir."

Elliot looked into the eyes of the dealer who was speaking to him; Elliot questioningly pointed to himself. The dealer said, "Yes sir. You. You look very lucky tonight."

Elliot looked around as if he were being watched by Emmett; he saw he was not, and said as he sat on the chair in front of the table, "Well, I suppose a couple of hands wouldn't hurt anything."

The first deal was passed around and Elliot said, "Hit me."

Elliot laughed and said, "Twenty one. I have twenty one. Black Jack!"

The dealer said, "Ah, see. I was right, you are lucky."

Elliot pulled out his wallet and said, "Deal me back in."

On the outskirts of town of a large black car stopped by another of the same make and model. One man stepped from the back seat of each. From the glow of Vegas One's limits, a balding man in a black suit said, "The lost sheep has been verified. He is somewhere in Vegas One."

The other man, also in a black suit, said, "Yes Mister Kroft. We have confirmed he is in the city some place. We will need to set out a search. We haven't picked up any temporal echoes."

Kroft , who appeared as young as the day he had met the Sheriff in 1955, said, "I want him before he makes any jumps. There is too much to correct when passing from one stream to the next. Also, I want him alive, and I want the original Flux Capacitor."

The other man nodded, "I understand sir."

Kroft smiled, "Finally, Doctor Emmett Brown. We shall meet."

Emmett Brown snored on the hotel bed with one hand on the controller. He smiled in his sleep and said, "See, Marty, I told you. Time… just a matter of time."

His stomach rumbled violently and he was rumbled awake. He rubbed his tummy and groaned, looked around the room. "Where is Elliot with my sandwich?" He looked over in the other bed and saw it was empty; then he called out as he slowly sat up, "Elliot? Elliot?" There was no answer.

Emmett tossed the frequency controller around in hands a bit and said, "Now we're back in business."

There was another rumble from his stomach and he saw a mini fridge in the room, "Maybe Elliot put my food in there." He opened it and looked inside, "Nope."

He slammed the fridge shut and grimaced, looking around the room. He checked the restroom, no one there. He then looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. Doctor Emmett Brown realized he had been sleeping for seven hours, and that all signs pointed to the fact that Elliot had never returned to the room.

Emmett grabbed the controller and dashed out of the room and into the elevator. He stepped out of the elevator and looked all about the bustling casino. He checked the tables, the slots, no sign of Elliot. He then looked over at the bar, and he saw the atrocious shirt with flowered print. Emmett walked to the bar and sat by Elliot, who was border line drunk.

"Elliot, may I ask what you are doing?" Emmett shook his head and waved the bar tender away when offered a drink.

Elliot looked over at Emmett, who he saw two of, and blubbered, "Oh, Emmett. You were right. You were so right. I have never had a lucky streak."

Emmett took Elliot by the shoulders, "Calm down."

"No, I am a sick, sick, sick man. I can't stop the gambling. I just have to do it. I'm sick I tell you."

Emmett laughed, "No, Elliot. You just fell off the wagon a bit, and it looks like now you are falling off another."

Elliot blubbered harder, "No, Emmett. You don't understand. I lost it all. Everything I have. I lost it all."

Emmett laughed again, "Elliot, it doesn't matter. Soon I will be going back to 1955 and none of this will have ever happened."

Elliot sniffled and said, "Emmett. You don't understand…"

Emmett said, "No, you don't understand what I am saying, Elliot. You're dunk and missing the point. I will be resetting the time stream. This will never have happened."

Elliot said, "Emmett, no. You won't. I lost the car too."

There was an abrupt silence, and it seemed as though Emmett was staring through Elliot. Emmett blinked twice, slow and hard, and then barked, "You idiot! You lost the car? You gambled the car away?"

Elliot was now in tears, "Yes..sss..sss," he said as he shook with tears.

"I told you not to gamble." Emmett swatted Elliot on the head and shook a finger in his face, "You have a disease, Elliot. You are a very sick man."

"I know," Elliot cried.

"How could you do this Elliot?"

"I… don't know," Elliot sobbed.

Emmett pondered for a moment, and then said, "Well, we have to get it back."

Elliot said, "They'll never give it back."

Emmett said, "Who said anything about them giving it back? I know how to hot wire a car."

Emmett and Elliot hid behind a column outside a fence behind the casino. Elliot said, "I see it. It's in the impound yard. You know, hotwiring the car is the easy part. Getting in there and living, that's the hard part."

Emmett looked around in the darkness, "We have to hurry; sun rise is coming soon."

Emmett pulled out chain cutters and carved a gash in the chain link fence, the two crept in. As soon as they were inside, lights came on all around them, spotting them out. A loud, amplified voice said, "Stop where you are."

Emmett said, "Run for it."

The two made a run for the DeLorean, and were almost at it, when they heard the click of shot guns from the darkness. They both stopped with their hands up. Muscle bound men holding guns came from the shadows. Emmett smiled, "Funny story… gentlemen…"

Before Emmett could finish his funny story, another bright light came from directly above them along with a roaring jet sound. The muscle bound men looked up, confused. Emmett made note of the baffled expressions on the thuggish employees and looked up himself. There was a large black shape hovering over them. Green zaps of energy came from the shape and rendered the muscle bound men unconscious, and the thing landed. Surprisingly, it was a car.

The rear door opened, and Kroft stepped out. "Doctor Brown."

Both Emmett and Elliot said, "Yes?"

Kroft cleared his throat, "Doctor Emmett Brown?"

Emmett stepped forward, "I am Doctor Emmett Brown."

"I have been searching for you for months. My name is Kroft. I want to speak with you about your incredible invention."

Emmett said, "I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about."

Kroft laughed, "There is much you do not understand Doctor Brown. I alone hold the power to have you executed as a fugitive of the law or, if you cooperate, pardoned."

Elliot whispered in Emmett's ear, "Don't trust this ass hole."

Emmett pointed at the large black flying car, "It looks like you already know all about my invention. I would guess you are behind the horrible change in the time stream."

Kroft laughed, "Horrible? It's true, I have made some adjustments to time. But I have unified the world, Doctor Brown."

Emmett said, "At what price? Five world wars?"

Kroft nodded, "It has not been perfect. But, you are partly to blame for that. Your design plans were not complete. Try as we might, we could not achieve one simple thing. We cannot go back in time past the point where we created our Flux Capacitor. But, with your help, Doctor Brown, we can fix this. We can go back farther. Make better corrections. The first two World Wars made it impossible to avoid the latter three. You can help us go back farther, and change it better."

Emmett smiled and said, "Or make it worse."

Kroft understood, "I anticipated you may not be compliant. This is alright. I don't really need you, Doctor Brown. I only need that," and he pointed at the DeLorean. 

Emmett said, "You're delusional, and the worst kind."

Kroft replied, "I see nothing delusional here, Doctor Brown. I see only history in the making."


	6. Chapter 6

Doctor Emmett Brown stood face to face with agent Kroft, the man who had single handedly ripped time a new one, and felt justified for it. This made Kroft the most notorious criminal in human history, as far as Brown was concerned. And Kroft planned to do more, go back farther, make deeper changes. Emmett had no idea how he would, or could, stop this from happening.

Kroft said, "This would go so much easier with your cooperation, Doctor Brown. But if you insist on doing things the hard way, then we can accommodate."

Emmett said, "I doubt you can accommodate much you can't control, Kroft."

Kroft sadly looked down at the ground, "Such a shame to have to loose such a gifted mind." He motioned back at his two henchmen behind him, "Take them both."

The two henchmen never had a chance to move. From out of nowhere came the fire of guns. Everyone took cover, and Elliot crouched by the door of the DeLorean and opened it. He took a screw driver from the console and began trying to hotwire the car.

The henchmen were at odds now with the rest of the hotel security, who had come fully armed and ready. There was more and more gun fire being met by zaps of green rays from the agents. Emmett crawled into the passenger seat, "How's it going there Elliot?"

Elliot said, "I'm trying, just stay down."

The DeLorean's engine started and the cousins laughed with joy. Staying low, Elliot popped the car in gear and crashed through the chain link fence while the agents and the muscle bound security fired at one another. The DeLorean screeched on to the road, barely missing other cars and began to race down the main strip.

"Elliot," Emmett said as he was trying to reconnect the frequency controller during the wild driving.

"Not now Emmett. I'm driving."

"Elliot, you are going the wrong way."

"Oh," Elliot recognized Emmett was correct and swung the car into a boot leg. Smoke rolled from the tires as he spun around and punched the accelerator. Emmett had lost balance during the spin, and the near complete connection of the controller was lost again and had to be restarted. Elliot smiled and said, "I saw that move on Magnum P.I."

"What's a Magnum P.I.?" asked Emmett.

Elliot said, "A cop show."

"Like Dragnet?"

"Emmett. Television is going to change."

The DeLorean passed by the Dunes again, and Elliot said, "Emmett, the traffic is blocked ahead."

Emmett turned and looked out the windshield. There was a traffic halt, the red brake lights were like taunting hot eyes. Emmett looked out the rear of the DeLorean and saw the large flying car coming after them, "You can't stop now Elliot."

Elliot swerved up on the sidewalk and barreled on through. Pedestrians panicked to get out of way as the crazy car sped up the sidewalk. As soon as they had passed the halted traffic Elliot swerved back on to the highway. Emmett was still fighting to get the frequency controller attached and insulated. He said happily, "Got it."

Emmett quickly spun around in his seat and punched in the destination coordinates. The end of town was coming, and the rod on the rear of the cab began to glow. Elliot said, "Looks like I am going back to 1955 with you."

Emmett said, "Don't worry, you will just fade away with me when things are set back right."

The bluish power glow was very intense as they approached the power lines. Emmett said, "Remember, no lower than eighty eight."

Elliot said, "Don't worry, I am not slowing down for anything."

Kroft peered down at the DeLorean and said, "Be prepared to follow their temporal echo if they make a jump."

The driver of the flying car said, "Yes sir."

Elliot looked down at the time machine console and said, "Oh oh. Emmett. We have a problem."

The destination console was beginning to smoke a bit, and now it was rapidly flipping dates and times. Emmett gasped, "Egad. It's gone haywire."

Elliot bore down on the accelerator, "Well, sometimes you just have to say what the hell."

Flashes of energy jumped out in front of the DeLorean, and it made its erratic jump into time. The driver of the flying car said, "They have made a time jump sir."

Kroft said, "Fall into the echo."

The driver flipped a switch and the flying car vanished as though it passed through an invisible curtain.

The empty Vegas One highway was replaced by thick forage when the DeLorean came out of the time jump. Shrubs and plants were thumping all around the outside of the auto. Elliot hit the brakes and slid to a stop before the car spilled over a cliff.

The car shut down, all instruments smoking. Emmett coughed and said, "Wow."

Elliot asked, "When are we?"

"I don't know," Emmett said and thumped the blank time consoles. "It overheated, we will have to let it cool down."

Elliot opened his door and saw the broken forage had all but hidden the car. Elliot looked around at the canyon and the forage, "We must have went so far in the future there is no more civilization."

Emmett opened his door and looked up in the sky, "I don't think so."

Elliot looked up where Emmett was gazing and saw a pteranodon. Elliot only said, "Oh. I see."

The sky cracked open and the flying sedan came through. The driver was looking down but did not see the DeLorean for all of the forage. Kroft said, "My word. We have come out in the Jurassic age."

Emmett told Elliot, "Stay down. Let them pass by. We are going to need a plan."

Elliot asked, "What kind of plan? Don't get eaten?"

Emmett agreed, "That goes without saying. Whatever power source they have, we need to make it back to the future."

"So, do you have a plan?"

"No, not yet." They watched the flying car land in the distance. "I am going to need some thinking time."

Kroft and his two henchmen stepped out of their sedan after it had landed. Kroft said, "We need to begin searching."

One of the henchmen said, "Sir, shouldn't we just leave them here. They will not have a power source to go back."

Kroft said, "No, you fool. We are not leaving without the original Flux Capacitor."

A prehistoric roar sounded off from the depths of the dense forest. Kroft said, "Try not to get eaten."

By the cliff side where the DeLorean entered the Jurassic age, Emmett Brown sat with his feet dangling over the edge. He was staring out over the small canyon which would disappear over the millions of years, and he was deep in thought. Elliot stepped up behind him and sat down also. He asked, "What's on your mind Emmett?"

"I don't have a plan Elliot. They have us outnumbered and their technology is far superior."

Elliot was surprised, "Is this the great Emmett Brown consenting to defeat?"

Emmett said, while still gazing over the unspoiled natural beauty, "Perhaps it was destiny that I invent this time machine, and that it fall into someone else's hands. Look at this world, right now. It's beautiful. In time, we humans will come along and use our science and technology to change it all."

Elliot said, "Yeah. That's true. But, look at this canyon. A few million years it will be gone. Change is going to happen anyway, Emmett. Mankind is supposed to happen also, as well as the changes we bring."

Emmett gave Elliot a pat on the leg, "Elliot. You have always been… an idiot."

Elliot asked, "Pardon?"

Emmett said, "There is a huge difference between the changes brought on by nature and the willful destruction brought on by humans."

Elliot said, "So you think we are separate from nature? Humans are the pinnacle of the natural world. I am simply saying, we were meant to be what we are."

Emmett said, "And everything done wrong is just so justifiable by you, isn't it? It's okay to wage war, because that is what man just does, right?"

Elliot said sternly, "Sometimes fate is what fate is, Emmett. Whether you go back in time to change it or not, it will be what it is."

Emmett stood up and shouted, "You know, that's your problem. You have always been short sighted. You have always made yourself to be the victim. It's just like with your gambling, which is wrong, and you behave like you have no control over it whatsoever. And, by the way, we would not be in this mess if it weren't for sick little addiction."

Elliot too stood and got in Emmett's face, "Look, I am not the one who tampered with the time stream and set all of this in motion. I was quite happy living my life until you came along, Emmett Brown, and simply ruined everything."

Emmett said, "So maybe you think your life would have been better off without me there, huh? Who covered for you when we were eighteen and you set fire to old man Glick's barn? Who took the blame for you?"

Elliot cried out, "Oh, here we go again. That old bone. You just never are going to let it go? It's not like I never had you back."

"Oh yeah, name one time."

Elliot screamed, "Now. Right now Emmett. I didn't have to help you. I didn't have come along with you. I certainly didn't have to wind up stuck here with the dinosaurs."

Fuming and tapping his foot, Emmett regarded Elliot with a stare of disdain. "Fine. Fine then. I give up."

Elliot said, "It's about time."

Emmett turned and began to stomp into the forage. Elliot called after him, "Wait, where are you going?"

Emmett said, "Didn't you hear me? I said I give up. Literally, I give up. I am going to turn myself in to Kroft. If I cooperate, maybe I get back in the future and figure out a way to stop all of this."

Elliot was now riddled with concern. He ran, catching up with Emmett, who he took by the elbow and slowing him down, "Emmett. Don't be a fool. At best, this guy Kroft is going to use you and kill you."

Emmett said, "Elliot, look around you. It's only a matter of time before we become lunch for some terrible lizard. I'll take my chances."

Elliot said, "Count me out. I will take my chances in nature before I willingly hand myself over to someone like that ass hole."

Emmett turned back to the jungle and said, as he walked away, "Suit yourself."

Elliot watch Emmett vanish into the thick greenery, and he scowled while watching, "Good riddance you hard headed moron."

Mr. Kroft was leaning against the flying sedan when Emmett Brown cleared the forest. He saw Emmett coming, but showed no emotion. Emmett said, "Okay, so you have went back in time farther than when you created a Flux Capacitor."

Kroft stood away from the car, "Only because we followed the echo of the stream you created, Doctor Brown. And now, here we are."

"Sure you don't want to try and bring about an early extinction level event? Seems like the sort of thing you like to do."

"Why are you here, Doctor Brown? Where is the Flux Capacitor?"

Emmett smiled and pointed at his head, "Right in here."

"Where is the actual, physical unit?"

Emmett made a crunchy sound with his lips, "Blooey. Gone. It drove over a cliff when we came out of the jump. I was lucky to jump out of the car before it went over the edge. Elliot… well, he didn't do so well."

"So, what are you proposing, Doctor Brown?"

Emmett walked over to Kroft while speaking, "I am proposing that I give you what you want now. I can modify your frequency controller, which is the problem you have, not the Flux Capacitor, and I can modify it now, here. Not a very large modification."

"How do I know I can trust you?" asked Kroft.

"Because," said Emmett, "I want to go back home, to 1955. We can go back to the future in your machine, but not to a point before the date you created your Flux Capacitor. You let me fix it, and take me home, and you will never have to declare me a fugitive of the world. I won't interfere with you."

Kroft thought for a moment. "You can do the repairs we need here?"

"Yes, it's a very simple issue you overlooked. I had the same problem for a while."

Hesitating, Kroft said, "Alright, Doctor Brown. Please do."

Emmett walked towards the car and said, "I just have to wonder, what are using to generate the one point twenty one gigawatts? Some sort of fusion power?"

Kroft laughed, "No. We traveled far into the future, and found they were mining an exotic material from space which has trapped all sorts of interstellar power. It is cleaned and refined, and made into a sort of super battery." Kroft raised the trunk of the sedan, which housed a host of gadgets and conduits. He opened a mounted plastic case and gestured Emmett a peek. Inside the case were an array of pink crystals, four wide and ten high. "Each one of these batteries are good for six time trips, of course they are also used to power the flight of the automobile, so we go through them pretty quickly."

"They aren't radioactive?" asked Emmett.

"No, at least not when being used or when first refined. But once they are used up, they become horribly toxic. I will tell you, the discarded remains of these were very useful in winning World War Five."

Emmett did his best to hide his disgust. He saw what he was looking for, "Ah, there's the frequency controller."

Kroft said, "How will you make the adjustment?"

Emmett said, "Well, it's hard to describe. It's not exact. It's an amplitude thing. More of an art to tune it than a science."

After Emmett had finished adjusting the frequency controller in the sedan, he noticed the two henchmen had returned. Emmett smiled and said to Kroft, "Okay, all finished."

Kroft lightly applauded. The two henchmen pulled weapons and pointed them at Emmett, who looked confounded and said, "Wait a minute. We made a deal."

Kroft said, "No, Doctor Brown, you made a deal. Don't worry, these guns will only stun you."

Emmett said, "What? Do you plan to leave me here?"

Kroft said, "That is exactly what I am going to do, Doctor Brown."

Emmett growled, "You are a sleaze. A snake in the grass. How do you know I won't do something to alter the distant future from here?"

Kroft said, "Millions of years in the past? I don't think you can make much of an impact."

Emmett began to plead, "Hey, I promised though. I will not interfere with you in the future."

Kroft said, "I know. You will extinct."

Suddenly, there was large banging noise, like stones clapping together. Crashing from the forage came a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It stopped, bewildered by the sedan and the humans standing around it. It rasped, and took a sniff. It had never seen humans before, but it could understand the men would make a tasty meal.

Both Emmett and Kroft screamed, running into the brush in different directions. The two henchmen stood their ground and pointed their weapons at the roaring fossil. They fired upon it, only enraging it. The stunning energy did not seem compatible with the older nervous system of the dinosaur. The T-Rex charged and the men ran, setting up a chase.

Emmett was hidden behind a tree in the forage watching the mayhem when something behind him startled him. He turned and it was Elliot. Elliot had mud smeared on his face in an attempt at camouflage. Emmett said, "Elliot, am I glad to see you."

Elliot said, "Shh." Elliot pulled Emmett into an escape. As they ran, Emmett asked, "The T-Rex, was that you?"

Elliot replied, "Yes. I found out, the hard way, that they really don't like the clapping together of stones."

They had made it back to the DeLorean and were cleaning the shrubs and branches off. Emmett asked, "What good is this going to do us? Are we just going to drive around until we run out of gas?"

Elliot smiled and pulled a slender pink crystal from his pocket. It was one of the batteries from Kroft's flying sedan. Elliot said, "Let me introduce you to my little friend." He waited a moment and then added, "That's from Scar Face."

Emmett took the battery and quickly began to apply it to the power of the Flux Capacitor. He asked, "Scar Face. What's that?"

"A movie," said Elliot as he climbed into the passenger's seat.

Emmett boarded the driver's side, "Is that something like Wizard Of Oz?"

"Emmett…" Elliot began as Emmett started the ignition of the car, "… movies are going to change."

Emmett could see the flying the sedan behind them in the rear view mirror. The DeLorean was moving, but the terrain was too rough to make over fifty miles an hour. Emmett said, "We are never going to make enough speed for the time jump."

Elliot said, "How about the canyon?"

"It's quite beautiful."

"No," Elliot said. "We could drive over the edge and get the speed from the velocity of the fall."

Emmett said, "I don't think it is deep enough. Eighty eight miles an hour, from the force of gravity pulling at thirty two point one eight feet per second squared, it would have to be at least one thousand eighty three feet to the base…"

Elliot said, "May be no good anyhow. Those creeps following us will just follow our echo."

Emmett laughed, "No they won't. I rigged their frequency controller to always have their destination be the same as their beginning coordinates."

Elliot said, "So they will be stuck right here again?"

Emmett said, "Worse. It will cause a feedback on the Flux Capacitor. They will be stuck between time, in a dimension where the instant of their existence has been divided in half."

Elliot said, "You were going to go with them?"

Emmett said, "I was willing to sacrifice myself to make sure they did no more harm to the time stream."

Elliot began to reach across the cab for the wheel, "What are you doing?" Emmett asked.

"We are going over the cliff, it's the only way."

Emmett said, "But we might be smashed to bits."

Elliot reached over and grabbed the wheel, "Emmett, sometimes you just have to say what the hell."

He jerked the wheel and the DeLorean went over the edge. The aerodynamic car turned nose down, and the two passengers grabbed the ceiling with their palms, screaming. Kroft's flying sedan hovered above as they watched the DeLorean go down.

Emmett and Elliot both wanted to close their eyes, but were mesmerized watching the ground become closer and closer. The nose of the car was mere inches above the bottom of the canyon. There was an explosive sound and a bright flash.


End file.
